T
he 1970's seem to have spawned what were then called 'street photographers' in the City of New York. Looking back at it now, it seems to have been a generational thing. Sonia Katchian was a street photographer of that time.

The hallmark of the street photographer was that they always, but always, had a camera strapped around the neck, on the shoulder, or in hand. Back then it was a Leica or a Nikon....and b&w was the lingua franca of the street photographer.

They scoured the streets of Manhattan. Everything and everyone on the streets of NYC was of potential interest and fair game.

Sonia shot mostly on Tri-X film, and mostly with a Leica rangefinder. Her lens was daring and frank--just like her. She had experienced fine-printmaking boot camp as a member of W. Eugene Smith's crew as he prepared the ultimate b&w photo exhibition "Let Truth Be the Prejudice" in 1970 at the Jewish Museum. It wasn't long before she connected with other young photographers working in the same mode as she was, and became a founding member of the original Soho Photo Gallery (then on Prince Street, 1971).